Weed-cutter.



'1. SMITH.

wEBn GUTTER.

APPLIUATIOH FILED SEPT. 5, 1911. 1,041,522. Patented Oct. 15, 1912.

dames `/77/%, mutue/boef l Figure 1 UNITED sTATEs JAMES SMITH, OF BELIANCE, SOUTH DAKOTA.

wEEn-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 15, 1912.

Application led September 5,1911. Serial No. 647,567.

To all whom "it may concern.'

Be it known that I, J AMES SMITH, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Reliance, in the county of Lyman and State of South Dakota, have invented certain new l and useful Improvements in Weed-Cutters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to weed cutters designed for attachment to a hand car or motor car to be run upon railway tracks and for cutting the weeds at the side of the track, said weed cutter comprising a rotary cutter and means for rotating said cutter when the hand car or motor car is in motion.

Another object of the invention is to provide a weed cutter designed to be connected to a hand car or motor oar said weed cutter comprising a rotary cutter and means for throwing'the cutter out of the way when not required for use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a weed cutter of the character referred to in which the shaft carrying the rotary cutter may be rotated by means of a friction wheel mounted on a shaft and adapted to be thrown into and out of contact with one of the wheels of the hand car or motor car.

These and other objects may be attained by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which is a rear elevation of a motor c'ar having my weed cutter connected thereto; Fig. 2 is a plan viewof the same; Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the weed cutter in section; Fig. 4 is a rear end elevation showing the weed cutter thrown up into inoperative position when not required for use; and Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the lever for moving the friction wheel into and out of contact with the wheel of the hand ,car or motor car.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the platform of an ordinary hand car or motor car such as is used in various parts of the country, said hand car being shown conventionally and the motor not being shown thereon. The car is provided with four track wheels 2 of the usual or any preferred construction mounted to travel on the rails or tracks 3. Journaled in hangers 4 underneath the rear portion of the platform 1 are the rear wheels 2. A short shaft 5 is jointed at 6 to the inner end of the cutter shaft 7, upon which is Xed a suitable weed cutter 8 of cylindrical form comprising a series of knives or cutters extending obliquely across the cutter and connected to suitable metal spokes 9. The cutter may be secured to the shaft 7 by means of a set screw 10. Connected to the outer end of the shaft 7 1s a diagonal brace or support 11, said brace being pivoted or hinged to the front end of the car as at 12. It is to be understood that these connections are suiiiciently loose to accommodate the unsymmetrlcal arrangement of shaft 7 and' brace 11 when the cutter is thrown into such position as that shown in Fig. 4.

For rotating the weed cutter a friction cone 'or wheel 13 is mounted on the shaft 5 and is connected to said shaft by means of a spline so that the friction wheel or cone 13 will rotate with the shaft. For moving the friction cone 13 into contact with one of the rear wheels 2 of the car, I have provided a lever 15 the lower ends of which 16 forms a bearing for the inner end of the cone shaft form 1 at a. Thus the cone wheel may be thrown into and out of contact with the wheels 2 by moving lever 15 backward or forward on its pivot. v

The cutter shaft 7 which is pivoted to the4 outer' end of the shaft 5 may be thrown up into position shown in Fig. 4 when not desired for use, and in order to accomplish this result, a chain 18 is connected to a vertical bar 19 on the outer end of the shaft 7, while the opposite 'end of the chain is connected to a lever 20 pivoted at 21 on the upper end of a supporting bar 22 secured to the platform 1. A chain 23 is connected to the inner end of the lever 20, and the other end of said chain is connected to a hook 24 on the platform. A spring 25 connected to the chain 23 gives a yielding action to the cutter shaft.

The operation of my weed cutter may be brieiiy described as follows: When the hand car or motor car is started and it is desired to cut the weeds upon the side of the track, the cutter 8 may be adjusted on the shaft 7 at any required dist-ance from the sides of the track and when throwndown in position for use and the cone 13 is thrown into contact with one of the wheels 2, the shaft 7 is rotated and will cut the weeds as the car is passed over the tracks. If the weeds are t0 be cut upon a single track the car is to be reversed at one end of the line and run back to the point of beginning.

5, and said lever being pivoted to the'plat- From .the foregoing, it will be obvious that a weed cutter made in accordance with my invention can be readily attached to la hand car or motor car and Will cut the weeds at the sides of the track very rapidly. The entire attachment is of simple construction, can be manufactured at low cost,'and can be readily connected to a hand car or motor car of the usual or any suitable type.

1. A Weed cutter attachment for hand cars comprising' a Vshaft mounted for rotation, a cutter shaft pivoted to the outer end of the first mentioned shaft, a cutter adjustable on the cutter shaft, a friction cone mounted on the first mentioned shaft, a lever for throwing said cone lnto and out of contact with a lever, a cutter shaft pivoted to the outer end of the rst mentioned shaft, a cutter mounted to rotate With said cutter shaft, and a brace connected to the outer end of said cutter shaft and pivoted to the car.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES SMITH.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH E. DoYLE, .ToHN SMITH. 

